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Tech NewsPrivacy and SecurityBritish Counter-Terrorism Officials Are Investigating Two More Novichok Poisonings
Neil Basu, Britain’s top counter-terrorism official, announced on Wednesday evening that a couple poisoned in the county of Wiltshire appear to have been exposed to Novichok, the Soviet-era nerve agent behind the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury earlier this year. According to the Guardian, authorities first believed … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsFacebook
Facebook Called Itself a ‘Publisher’ in Court After Repeatedly Rejecting the Label in Public
For years, Facebook has insisted that it isn’t a publisher or media company but rather is just a platform. That position appears to have changed in a recent court appearance. The Guardian pointed out the social media giant’s legal defense referred to it as a publisher to bolster its case in a lawsuit. The shift … Continued
By AJ Dellinger -
Tech NewsNews
It’s So Hot Out, It’s Slowing Down the Speed of Stock Trades
If the heat wave and the accompanying blanket of humidity have you feeling like the world is moving just a little slower than normal, well you’d be right—at least in when it comes to radio transmissions. Nasdaq warned customers Tuesday that the weather was resulting in slight delays in the transfer of data, which could … Continued
By AJ Dellinger -
Tech NewsSploidSlo-Mo Footage of Fireworks Blowing Up a BBQ Is the Best Way to Spend the Fourth of July
You’re doing the Fourth of July wrong if you’re not spending it with lots of food, lots of fireworks, and lots of tiny flags. But if you’d rather just stare at your phone all day, director David Ma has combined all the requisite Fourth of July traditions into a slo-mo extravaganza of patriotic destruction. Red, … Continued
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Tech NewsFacebook
India Calls on WhatsApp to Stop the Spread of Hoax Messages That Have Led to Lynchings
WhatsApp is promising to introduce new features intended to prevent the spread of hoax messages in India following reports that more than one dozen lynchings have occurred in the country as a result of false rumors spread on the popular, Facebook-owned messaging service. According to BuzzFeed, WhatsApp sent a letter to India’s Ministry of Electronics … Continued
By AJ Dellinger -
Tech NewsSploidThis Trippy Roller Coaster Ride-Along Will Make You Vomit Faster Than the Real Thing
Jeb Corliss brought along a GoPro Fusion 360-degree camera during a ride on Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Goliath roller coaster. But instead of using the footage to create an immersive VR experience, he instead turned it into a fantastically trippy 2D video that will make you dizzier faster than riding the real thing. The camera … Continued
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Tech News
A Daring Plan to Rescue Boys Trapped in Thai Cave Is Starting to Take Shape
Earlier this week, 12 Thai boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were discovered by diving experts trapped in an air pocket deep within a submerged cave system. Water levels within the cave complex aren’t expected to drop for months, but a daring plan to rescue the boys is now rapidly taking shape. … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Clever Wheelchair Redesign Lets Riders Steer By Simply Leaning to the Side
The convenience of never having to recharge a manually-powered wheelchair is often outweighed by the fact that riders must use both arms to steer it. Carrying something like a smartphone at the same time is a big challenge, so a Swiss design student was inspired to design a better wheelchair that allows riders to steer … Continued
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Tech NewsInsectoid Microbot Leverages Small-Scale Physics to Swim and Walk Underwater
Inspired by bugs, Harvard’s Ambulatory Microrobot, or HAMR, can run, climb, make sharp turns, and carry small payloads. In the latest upgrade to the system, HAMR has been endowed with the ability to swim, dive down from the surface, and walk underwater—no small task for an object as light as a paperclip. Roboticists at Harvard … Continued
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Tech NewsInternet Spiritual Guru Teal Swan Says She Isn’t a Cult Leader But Has ‘The Perfect Recipe For a Cult’
Gizmodo’s podcast The Gateway follows our reporting on controversial internet spiritual guru Teal Swan, and the influence she has over her thousands of followers. In the final episode, released today, we have one final interview with Swan. In that conversation Swan discusses whether or not she is a cult leader and why she feels she … Continued
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Tech NewsYou Can Actually Light a BBQ Using Water
It’s a crucial compound when it comes to supporting life, but water has so many amazing properties that there’s a lifetime of experiments to try with what comes pouring out of your faucets. It’s common knowledge that water is an effective tool for dousing a flame, but did you know that you can use water … Continued
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Tech NewsIndoor Virtual Skydiving Is Cool—But It Just Made Me Want to Jump Out of a Plane for Real
I rarely turn down the chance to try something new or strange. Reptile expo with live demos? Sounds great. Monster truck rally? Yea, why the hell not. Vape show in town? Sure, I’ll check it out. Indoor virtual reality skydiving? I AM THERE. Who cares that “indoor virtual reality skydiving” as a concept doesn’t make … Continued
By Joe Tonelli -
Tech NewsGadgets6 Ways You’re Risking the Security of Your Gadgets Without Thinking
We all want our tech to stay secure, but we also want a life that’s easy and convenient—and sometimes the two don’t fit together all that well. These are some of the ways you’re putting your devices at risk, perhaps without even realizing it, and what you can do to stop it. 1) Watching TV … Continued
By David Nield -
Tech NewsNews
Walmart Caves to Fake Outrage, Pulls ‘Impeach 45’ Shirts From Online Marketplace
Retail giant Walmart yanked shirts saying “Impeach 45,” which just so happens to be the number President Donald Trump has embroidered on his shirt sleeves, from its online store on Tuesday after getting rolled by spurious threats of a boycott on Twitter. Per the Washington Post, the incident transpired mostly after Students for Trump chairman … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsNews
Uber Maybe Planning Merger With Middle Eastern Competitor Careem, Insists This Merger Is Different
Ride-hailing giant Uber is planning to merge with its competition in the Middle East, though unlike prior deals in Southeast Asia, China, and Russia, it says it will remain in control of the merged entity. Bloomberg reports that Uber is in “preliminary talks” with local competitor Careem to strike a deal that would see the … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech NewsPrivacy and Security
ZTE Is Starting to Resume Operations Under a Temporary Commerce Department Waiver
Chinese smartphone and networking equipment manufacturer ZTE scored another concession from the White House on Tuesday, with Reuters reporting that the Department of Commerce had decided to grant it a “temporary reprieve” from a ban on purchasing components from US companies that recently led to ZTE shutting down its operations. ZTE is the company the … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Tech News
This Neural Network Instant Camera Turns Everything You Shoot Into Cartoon Doodles
Photographers who still shoot on film claim they like the lo-fi, grainy aesthetics of the medium. But by that logic, they should be throwing hundreds of dollars at Dan Macnish who created a custom instant camera that converts what the camera’s lens sees into crude, stick figure doodles. Remember Google’s Quick, Draw! online game that … Continued
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Tech NewsHeat Stroke Is Making Me Desperately Want This Giant Motorized Umbrella for My Car
Spend too much time in extreme summer heat and you’ll find yourself doing strange things. A week ago the idea of a gigantic umbrella for my car would have seemed laughable, but after a weekend of climbing in and out of unbearably hot vehicles, the Lanmodo seems like it should be a standard feature on … Continued
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Tech NewsAppleiPhone Confuses ‘Syria’ for ‘Siri’ During UK Defense Secretary’s Speech
For modern smartphone owners, it’s a common enough of an occurrence. You’re just sitting there, talking about whatever, when suddenly you say something that triggers the digital assistant on your phone. Now normally, you’d probably get annoyed for a second, tap a button to dismiss the interruption, and then continue with whatever you were doing. … Continued
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Tech NewsThe U.S. Treasury Has a Whole Department That Rebuilds and Refunds Destroyed Cash
It doesn’t matter what ludicrous conspiracy theory is stopping you from storing your money in a bank, you’ll be happy to know that the US Department of the Treasury has an entire division dedicated to the task of trying to rebuild and recover currency should your cash-stuffed mattress get destroyed in a fire or flood. … Continued